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26 Jun 2025 Arzybek Kozhoshev, "Today, transport is a basic condition for access to work, education, social life" The impact of transport integration on sustainable development in Eurasia was the main topic of the session "Sustainable Transport in the Eurasian Region: Mobility, Multimodality and Digitalization". The event was held in Minsk as part of the 4th Eurasian Economic Forum. "Transport and infrastructure should be accessible to all segments of the population, including residents of remote areas, with fair fees," said Arzybek Kozhoshev, Minister in charge of Energy and Infrastructure of the Eurasian Economic Commission. During the presentations, the development of digital technologies, infrastructure, international transport corridors, container and multimodal transportation was discussed in detail. The discussion also covered the issues of energy efficiency, pollution reduction and transport congestion. The EEC Minister noted that "the EAEU is consistently and dynamically moving toward implementing the sustainable transport principles. The focus is on increasing the efficiency of the Union's transit utilization, developing smart transport systems and modernizing infrastructure." The discussion brought together representatives of government agencies, business community and international organizations. The session speakers were the heads of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia, the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Belarus, the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation and the Executive Committee of the Transportation Advisory Board of the CIS Member States, representatives of Iran. 
26 Jun 2025 Bakytzhan Sagintaev Held Negotiations with Prime Minister of Myanmar Min Aung Hlaing On June 26 on the sidelines of the Eurasian Economic Forum in Minsk, Bakytzhan Sagintaev, Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission, held a working meeting with Min Aung Hlaing, Chairman of the State Administrative Council and Prime Minister of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. The parties discussed cooperation between the Eurasian Economic Union countries and Myanmar in accordance with the Memorandum of Cooperation. "Since the signing of the Memorandum, positive dynamics has been observed on a wide range of economic agenda items of our cooperation," Bakytzhan Sagintaev noted. "The EAEU states' trade turnover with Myanmar has more than tripled in 2019–2024, exceeding $1.5 billion." The Head of the EEC Board emphasized that raising awareness with the parties about each other's trade and economic opportunities will create the necessary conditions for developing interaction. At the end of the meeting Bakytzhan Sagintaev and Min Aung Hlaing agreed that interaction between the business circles will give additional impetus to the dialogue between the EAEU and Myanmar. This will also make it possible to identify new promising areas of cooperation. The key exports of Myanmar to the EAEU countries are rice, coffee, palm oil and cocoa beans. Imports to Myanmar are dominated by mineral fertilizers, consumer goods, machinery and equipment, metals, edible oils, cement and medicines.
26 Jun 2025 Bakytzhan Sagintaev, "Joining economic potentials can multiply the effect of mutually beneficial cooperation" On June 26, Bakytzhan Sagintaev, Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission, took part in the panel session "Dialogue of Interstate Associations: Convergence of Economic Potentials and Deepening Trade and Economic Cooperation" at the Eurasian Economic Forum in Minsk. "Dialogue of integrations" is one of the main development trends of the global economy. The leaders of all five countries of the Union never fail to emphasize the importance of incorporating the Eurasian Economic Union into the global system of trade and economic relations," Bakytzhan Sagintaev emphasized.  The Head of the EEC Board noted that the Commission jointly with the Member States created the necessary infrastructure for a systemic international dialogue. There are 12 memoranda of cooperation with regional interstate associations. Dialogue with them serves as a foundation for the exchange of experience and increasing the pace of trade and economic cooperation. The Commission and the Union have an extensive network of contacts around the world, including Eurasia, Latin America and Africa. Among the key partners with which the dialogue is successfully developing are the CIS, SCO, ASEAN, Mercosur, BRICS, CICA, Andean Community, Southern Common Market, African Union, Pacific Alliance and others.   The main instrument for expanding the geography of partnership is trade agreements. They are concluded with Vietnam, Iran, Serbia, China, and negotiations on an agreement with Indonesia are at the final stage. On June 27, two more trade agreements are scheduled to be signed on the sidelines of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council meeting — with the UAE and Mongolia. "Today the EAEU is interested not only in adopting the positive experience of other organizations in integration development. As an established association, we are ready to offer our partners our own best practices. Joining our economic potentials can multiply the effect of mutually beneficial cooperation," summarized the Head of the EEC Board.
26 Jun 2025 Bakytzhan Sagintaev, "The trade and economic dialogue of the EAEU and CICA countries is growing in importance" On June 26 on the sidelines of the Eurasian Economic Forum in Minsk, Bakytzhan Sagintaev, Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission, held negotiations with Kairat Sarybay, Secretary General of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA). In the course of the meeting, the issues of further dialogue between the EEC and CICA were discussed, in particular, the preparation of an action plan within the framework of implementing the Memorandum of Understanding. "We will include in the plan all promising areas of our joint actions taking into account mutual interests," Bakytzhan Sagintaev noted. Notably, the head of the EEC Board proposed to emphasize the promotion of joint initiatives in the region. Cooperation between the Eurasian Economic Commission and CICA is becoming increasingly relevant in the context of global economic processes. As a result of the meeting, the parties reached an agreement to maintain regular working contacts to develop cooperation. The Memorandum of Understanding between the EEC and the CICA Secretariat was signed in 2022.
26 Jun 2025 Bakytzhan Sagintaev: "Within the EAEU more than 60% of initiatives of business entities are accepted annually" Bakytzhan Sagintaev, Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission, took part in a meeting of the Advisory Board for Interaction between the EEC and the EAEU Business Council on June 26 in Minsk on the sidelines of the Eurasian Economic Forum. “In general, the Commission’s activities focus on creating conditions for the entrepreneurs from our countries to utilize the integration potential of the Eurasian Economic Union most efficiently. We are interested in further expansion of cooperation with the business community," Bakytzhan Sagintaev noted in his welcoming address to the event participants. The Head of the EEC Board stressed that within the EAEU a substantial legal framework has been created and long-term priorities in various economic sectors have been defined, which facilitates doing business. Moreover, the mechanisms of interaction with the business community, including the Advisory Board, established by the Commission jointly with the Union countries, help take their interests into account to the maximum extent possible. "The creation of the Advisory Board facilitated the transition to a new format of communication with entrepreneurs, which is the single window. Our dialogue now allows responding to requests from businesses quickly. In many respects due to this, more than 60% of initiatives of business entities are annually accepted and incorporated in regulation within the Union," Bakytzhan Sagintaev emphasized. The meeting discussed relevant matters of the Eurasian economic integration, including awareness raising with the business community about the EAEU industrial policy instruments and improving the protection of entrepreneurs' rights. The purpose of the Advisory Board is to ensure an effective dialogue between the Commission and the EAEU Business Council to determine the directions and prospects for developing entrepreneurship in the areas of EEC competence.
26 Jun 2025 Convergence of Qualification Requirements is One of Important Factors in Developing Labor Migration in the EAEU On June 26 on the sidelines of the Eurasian Economic Forum in Minsk, the round table "Labor Migration as a Resource for the EAEU States Sustainable Economic Growth: Creating Conditions for Attracting and Developing Qualified and Scientific Specialists within the EAEU" was held. The event was attended by representatives of public authorities, entrepreneurs, experts on labor migration, rectors of leading universities of Russia and Kyrgyzstan. The discussion focused on professional training of specialists in demand in the EAEU labor market, convergence of qualification requirements to them, continuous professional development and other issues of development of the Union's common labor market. Altynai Omurbekova, Director of the EEC Labor Migration Department, noted that the demand for qualified personnel continues to grow. The statistics shows positive dynamics: this year the registered unemployment rate in the EAEU has decreased to 0.7%, which is significantly less compared to the same period in 2024. Altynai Omurbekova presented a report on the convergence of qualification requirements for the most in-demand professions, prepared by the Commission jointly with the Member States for consideration at the meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council in August 2025. The analysis has shown that national qualification systems are structurally similar, but there are still differences in the procedures for verifying professional competencies. For example, requirements to welders range from mandatory certification in Kazakhstan to voluntary qualification assessment in Russia and Kyrgyzstan. In Armenia and Belarus such certification is not applicable at all. For consistent convergence of qualification requirements, the EEC has developed a list of the most in-demand professions (updated annually), as well as recommended qualification requirements to such professions in the areas of road transport, housing and communal services and construction, education and healthcare, which the Member States can use in the development of national standards. According to Altynai Omurbekova, one of the priority development areas for the EAEU common labor market is continuing the work with the member countries to develop recommended qualification requirements for the most in-demand professions for effective leveraging of knowledge and competencies acquired in different EAEU countries. "Convergence of qualification requirements and approaches to the assessment of professional skills of workers is an important step for further deepening of integration processes in the EAEU and the efficient utilization of labor potential of the Eurasian region," summarized the Director of the EEC Department.
26 Jun 2025 EEF 2025 Discussed Future of Labor Migration in Eurasian Economic Union The participants of the thematic session "Common Labor Market: Challenges and Prospects" held on the sidelines of the Eurasian Economic Forum 2025 in Minsk discussed the functioning of the EAEU common labor market, current difficulties and strategic development directions. The session was moderated by Bakhyt Sultanov, Minister in charge of Economy and Financial Policy of the Eurasian Economic Commission.  Opening the discussion, the EEC Minister noted, "For the EAEU, the common labor market is a kind of indicator of the efficiency of the Eurasian integration processes, since the quality of its functioning largely determines the extent to which its citizens feel the real benefits of integration and trust them." According to Bakhyt Sultanov, over the 10 years of the Union's functioning, equal access to employment for citizens of the EAEU countries, direct recognition of certificates of education in employment, social and pension benefits of migrant workers all have been ensured.  "These measures have led to a significant increase in mobility: the annual flow of labor migrants has grown from 770,000 in 2016 to more than 1 million in 2024," shared Bakhyt Sultanov. The session considered directions for further development of the common labor market, including legal framework improvements. The Commission constantly monitors changes in national legislation of the EAEU countries for compliance with the law of the Union in the field of labor migration. Digitalization of labor migration processes was named as a significant vector of development. The participants agreed that there is a need for jointly promoting and implementing digital solutions. It was noted that digitalization will not only optimize processes, but also provide EAEU citizens with more complete and timely information on employment opportunities and conditions of stay, minimizing barriers and risks of illegal migration. The session paid special attention to "platform employment", which is actively developing, but is not yet supranationally regulated in the EAEU, while in the Union Member States regulation of this form of employment is emerging. "Our continued success depends on our ability to respond quickly to change, to propose workable measures and to take into account the needs of the Union citizens. At the same time, it is important to involve the widest possible range of stakeholders in this work," the EEC Minister emphasized. Representatives of government agencies, businesses, trade unions and international organizations took part in the discussion. Many initiatives voiced at the session will be addressed by the EEC jointly with the EAEU countries to develop the common labor market further and improve its efficiency.
26 Jun 2025 Eldar Alisherov, "The EAEU sustains positive development dynamics in key economic sectors" Eldar Alisherov, Minister in charge of Integration and Macroeconomics of the Eurasian Economic Commission, was a keynote speaker at the round table "10 Years of the EAEU: On Challenges and Achievements" at the 4th Eurasian Economic Forum in Minsk on June 26. "Over the ten-year period, the Eurasian Economic Union, which was created as a universal instrument for combining and scaling up the competitive advantages of the closest states of the post-Soviet Eurasia, has proved its efficiency and succeeded as an international integration association with an effective institutional and legal framework in line with the best international practices," Eldar Alisherov said.  He emphasized that "amidst the instability of global markets and an unfavorable global political environment, the EAEU contributes to stabilizing the macroeconomic situation in the Union countries, sustains positive development dynamics in key industries and supports economic ties established in the EAEU". Notably, the EEC Minister analyzed the ten-year dynamics of the EAEU economic indicators, which is positive. Indeed, since the creation of the Union, the aggregate GDP of the EAEU (from 2015 to 2024) has grown by 17.8%, and by almost $1 trillion in absolute terms. Total GDP growth in 2023–2024 exceeded the global average, being in the range of 4.3–4.4%. Progress has been made in improving the general welfare of the population. At purchasing power parity, per capita GDP in the EAEU in 2023 increased to 41,200 dollars from 22,700 dollars in 2015. In 2024, mutual trade in goods of the Member States increased 2.1 times compared to 2015 and reached US$97.7 billion against US$45.6 billion. The foreign trade of the Union states with countries outside the EAEU has grown 1.4 times in 10 years and amounted to US$795 billion in 2024. Positive trends have been observed in all Member States. Eldar Alisherov dwelt separately on the achievements of the EAEU in creating common markets for goods, services, capital and labor, as well as on the future directions of the Union's development in accordance with the Declaration adopted by the Heads of State in 2023, which defines the vector of integration until 2030 and for the period until 2045, emphasizing the digitalization of economic processes, cooperation and unleashing the Union's technology potential, the establishment of a common transport and logistics space, the development of new integration areas with integration potential. The speaker also noted some bottlenecks in the integration interaction of the Member States, including a small share of mutual investments in total FDI in the EAEU (although for some countries these flows are significant, such as for Belarus and Kyrgyzstan), the lack of a stable long-term trend of income convergence in the Member States, as well as the fact that no institutional mechanisms have yet been created to facilitate convergence of the economies in terms of development. The parties continue to work in these areas. Information brochures on the social and economic development of the EAEU countries in the context of a decade of their participation in integration processes within the Union were also presented at the round table.
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